Bottle Hunt is a fun bottle shooting game that mixes a Western style shooter with a hunting game, except in Bottle Hunt no virtual animals are harmed. Set in photographic backgrounds, Bottle Hunt provides 9 levels of glass flying fun and 6 mini-games that range from dual wielding to shotgun treatment.

Gameplay

For trigger happy gamers who wince at Bambi getting shot, even virtually, Bottle Hunt provides a perfect playground. You get anywhere from dozens to hundreds of bullets to take out stacks of bottles. Like a good hunter, you don?t spray bullets rather plant your shots with a crosshair. There is a twist that adds some unknown to this controlled method: you can?t exactly control the crosshair. It wonders on the screen often passing the bottles you need to shoot, but the AI controls the movement of the crosshair. You can drag the crosshair to certain areas on the screen but the game makes it impossible to pinpoint the crosshair on a target. So what do you have to do to make your shots count? Concentration and quick reflex are the essential qualities you must possess. Watch the crosshair, when it lands on a bottle, touch the trigger button.

Any gamer who has wielded a gun knows that not all shots are equal, and that is the case in Bottle Hunt. Shots on a bottleneck earn you more respect and higher score than the ones land on the fat belly of a bottle. Fast drawers will get their rewards as well: if you can make more than 2 shots in quick successions and they all find their targets, you get highscore bonuses. Each level has a higher percentage requirement than the last level, like you will have to shoot over 90% of the bottles on the screen before you run out of bullet in later levels. In the main 9 levels, you get the same numbers of bullets as the bottles. So you already know that you can?t afford to waste too many. Now this might seem like a loosing proposition as we are only human and are bound to miss sometimes. But there is one salvation: for every ten continuous successful shots you get a bonus bullet.

When you complete certain levels in the main gameplay, the game rewards you with mini-game levels. The shooting styles in mini-games aren?t that different from the main levels, but there is some interesting variations such as flying bottle game where bottles fly across screen from both directions and you shoot them while they are in the air. There is a dual wielding mini game, a shotgun mini game and even a blind shot game where the center of the crosshair is blocked and you have to guess where to shoot. Bottle Hunt offers both local high scores and global scoreboard via OpenFeint.

Graphics & Sound

Bottle Hunt has simple graphics that work well for the gameplay. The photographic background has an old Western style and looks very realistic. This is important because the crosshair style shooting requires accuracy and you can?t zoom in on accuracy if you can?t see the bottles well. You get either some rundown backyard or an expired old truck as a background which not only spice up the scene but also makes certain sense: nobody would want to shoot old bottles on their brand new Ferrari. Bottle collection in the game is also impressive, they come in different sizes, shapes and drink varieties (not just whisky bottles).

Bottle Hunt has both background music and sound FX. Background music is a typical country twang completed by banjo riffs. Sound FX is simple, dominated by bullet whistling and glass shattering sound. The game has options to turn off/off both BGM and sound FX.

Conclusion

A simple yet efficient hunting game that doesn?t hurt any animals, Bottle Hunt is fun and P.C. with PETA. Though not very long, the game has enough of a twist to make it at least challenging with the moving crosshair and tricky targeting. Realistic backgrounds are eye-catching and the smooth control makes the gameplay enjoyable. If you are a casual gamer or a hunting game fan who wants to take a break from the bloody kills, Bottle Hunt is a great little title to kill some time with or even sharpen your skills in.